The Green Standard?

Shades Of Green Developers of the Visionaire condos in New York are shooting for platinum with 35% energy savings.

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Benedict, who works outside the LEED structure, says that environmental constraints free her creativity, citing a building in the Bronx where dramatically deep sills shade the south-facing windows. Certain clichés of modern architecture, like the glass curtain walls of One Bryant Park, the future headquarters of USGBC board member Bank of America, are another story. "It's pretty frustrating that there's going to be a LEED platinum-rated glass building," Benedict says. "It's going to use obscene amounts of energy. At times, it will need to be heated and air-conditioned at the same time."

Jordan Barowitz, director of external affairs at the Durst Organization, the developers of One Bryant Park, counters, "You could make a building that's very energy-efficient by not having any windows in it and having only one elevator, but this is not a building that people are going to want to work in."

So what should define a green building? It's not necessarily shiny or pretty, and it starts from the minute the site is chosen. LEED began with the goal of getting attention for energy-efficient building. Now that it is dominant in the marketplace, it could be adjusted to better reflect--and exploit--its newfound power.

Rob Watson, the so-called father of LEED, seems to agree. "Over the last 10 years, the gravity of the global environmental situation has become more obvious," says Watson, reached in China, where he's consulting on green buildings for the government and private developers. "And so I think, if anything, we need to redouble our efforts, and not only go for greater market share but increased stringency at the same time."

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